


Despair Defeated

by infernalViper



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-04-30 09:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14493468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infernalViper/pseuds/infernalViper
Summary: Playing through Trigger Happy Havoc and spending my free time with Mukuro at the start had me thinking; what if Mukuro went soft for the others, particularly Naegi? How might things have transpired if Mukuro betrayed her sister from the very second day, working secretly to stop her plans? What if everyone knew the mastermind from the start?Effectively, this is another interpretation of what could have happened in the plot, just like Danganronpa: IF.





	1. Hello Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is literally a re-write of the start of the game/anime, original content comes soon!

The room fell silent. It seemed to last forever, an uncomfortable emptiness that the students felt both physically and emotionally. The first to break it was Makoto Naegi.

"What the hell? What do you mean 'kill each other?'" He shouted, taking a defensive stance. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. It made him uncomfortable not knowing what they were thinking.

"Killing means killing. I can get you a dictionary if you need one." Monokuma replied, a harsh grin worn on his face as he spoke. He showed no remorse for what he said, no emotion. He looked serious, but he couldn't be, right?

"That's enough of this crap, let us out of here right now!" Mondo growled at the bear. His glare was absolute, but from the corner of Naegi's eye, a small hint of genuine fear could be detected. Others were more obvious with their terror. Kyoko was comforting Chihiro and Sayaka a little further away; the former was sobbing gently, the latter unable to make a single sound and wearing a face of absolute peril.

The others? Well, they were as speechless as Naegi now was, as they all awaited the bear's response.

"Let you out? Wow, you really haven't been listening, have you? Wouldn't that just completely ruin the game I've put sooooo much time into planning for you?" Monokuma slyly said, a paw under his chin.

"You think this is a game?!" Mondo roared, lifting his leg and charging towards Monokuma. It happened in seconds, but it felt no more than one. Mondo had the bear by the throat, suspended in the air. 

"D-dude!" Leon shouted, horrified by the sudden behaviour shift. He feared Mondo a little, but feared what Monokuma might do far more.

"That's not going to help!" The heir shouted.

"You really should listen to them, you know. You're going to be with them a loooooong time..." The robotic voice faded out. The bear, left eye glowing red, began to beep gently. Mondo still had a death grip on it, hand trembling and a face of thunder. He didn't move, no-one really knew what to do. Was it over?

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beepbeep. Beepbeep. 

"Throw it!" Kyoko screamed across the gym at the biker. 

Beepbeepbeepbee-

Snapping out of his daze, he took her word. Monokuma was launched into the air a mere second before he exploded, causing enough of a shock wave to knock everyone back a few paces. 

Mondo was holding his hand, looking at it. It probably wouldn't have been there still if he hesitated a moment longer. The thought only further heightened his fury. 

"Are you alright?" Sakura said down to Aoi, sat on the floor looking as if she'd watched her family get slaughtered before her eyes. She nodded once. 

"I-is it over?" Touko asked no-one in particular, staring at the floor.

"Faaaaaaar from it!" A disturbingly familiar voice shouted from behind the desk. There he was, Monokuma. On the desk. Not damaged one bit. Suddenly the whole gravity of the situation swept over the group, as if it wasn't strong enough to pull them into the depths of despair already. 

"N-no!" Hagakure yelled dramatically. "That's not possible!" 

"How interesting." Celestia muttered, a finger over her lip.

"So, how many of you are hiding around the school?" Togami asked with a sigh, as if the situation was just a minor inconvenience to him.

"I hate to interrupt you kids, but I'm getting pretty bored. I'm afraid I'm going to have to destroy your hope, because a game is exactly what this is, I've already said that! And if any of you ever want to get out of here, you'll play by my rules. And if you don't, well, I'm sure I've made enough of an example already. Goodbye for now!" Without another word, he leaped behind the desk and all fell silent. 

Kiyotaka charged over, looking behind for any indication of where he went. "He's gone!"

Mondo scoffed. "I'm gunna kill him."

"Idiot." Leon grumbled in Mondo's direction, still pondering how close he just came to death.

Hifumi trembled on the spot, but he wasn't the only one. 

"Come on guys, we don't actually have to do anything, right?" Naegi said optimistically, addressing everyone. "I mean, there's no way that's the only way out. There has to be a loophole, and if we all work together, who knows?"

Junko hadn't spoke a word during the whole scenario, she was just stood in the back, watching everything unfold. She exchanged one or two uncomfortable stares with Celestia at times. Kyoko had an eye on her, as if she was suspicious of something. She had good reason to be.

"We can't do that! You heard the bear. We have to.. kill each other? We-we're gunna die!" Touko uttered, teeth chattering. 

"N-no. He's right. We can't do this, we have to work together and get out of here.." Chihiro spoke up. It looked like she had something more to say, but couldn't handle everyone looking at her expectantly at once.

"But if what the stuffed animal said is true, then a death is... inevitable." Celestia chirped up, a clawed finger still just over her lips. She said the last word with such malice, almost like it excited her to think about it. "None of us can really be trusted, hm?"

"As much as it pains me to admit it, she has a point." Togami added.

Everyone looked at each other, it was like everyone was already assigning blame, predicting who would be the first to crack. The first to kill. 

"We can't start thinking so closed-mindedly already. Why don't we split into teams? We can cover a decent area of the school whilst keeping tabs on each other." Kyoko offered as a suggestion.

"That may be the best idea for now." Sakura agreed, still standing beside Aoi. At least she was on her feet now, with less of a face of fear and more of a determined one. 

"I can back that!" Yasuhiro yelled, hand lost in his hair. 

Not waiting for any more approval, Kyoko nodded. "We will do that then." 

"Tch." Togami grunted. Placing his hands in his jacket pockets, he walked out of the gym. 

"What the fuck excuses him from the the rules?" The biker shouted, running out too. If someone else was allowed to do what they wanted, so was he, and he didn't want to work with the others there anyway.

"I'll go to help them!" Kiyotaka shouted, feeling it was his duty to find and guide his troubled new friends.

"I guess that's one team sorted." Sakura remarked, optimistically assuming the three of them would ever even consider grouping up.

"How are we all supposed to pick teammates when we don't even know each other?" Leon quizzed, hands in his pockets and wearing a signature slouch. 

"It shouldn't be a difficult activity, surely. If we can't even organise ourselves into groups, then god help us." Remarked Celestia, before walking towards where Touko was standing. 

Following suit, everyone found themselves awkwardly shuffling around to organise their groups. There didn't seem to be much further logic or thought in the process than 'they look like someone I might get on with,' but then, how could there be any more thought than that?

Stood almost immediately were two small groups. Sakura, Aoi and Hiro in one area, Celestia, Touko and Hifumi in the other. The people who hadn't moved, for the most part, were those with too much pride to admit they needed a group, or too little self confidence to join one. The next person to move on cue was Sayaka, who chose to group with Sakura. And then, as if waiting for her movement, Leon followed suit.

Remaining now were Naegi, Kyoko, Junko and Chihiro. "Enoshima, you coming?" Naegi called over to the fashionista, still leaning on a wall by the entrance nonchalantly.  
"Oh, I'd be honoured." Junko replied, a slightly snarky tone to her voice, suspiciously nonchalant of what just occurred. Makoto felt a little bad for her. What had happened for her to give up this easily?  
"I think I'd like to group with Celestia, if that's okay." Chihiro quietly told Naegi and Kyoko. In truth, she was a little cautious of Junko. She seemed, off. Celestia wasn't the best replacement, but Sakura's group was already quite full. The programmer made her way to stand by Hifumi after a nod from the others, and the teams were made.

"I already have a feeling this search will yield great results!" Hiro yelled hopefully. 

"And nothing can happen as long as we work together." Aoi added.

"Then, let's do this." Kyoko said with a gentle smile.

"We might as well cover the area by the dorms, and the surrounding halls." Sakura stated.

Celestia grimaced a little. "Allow us to search the classrooms then, and the other rooms on the east end."

"So we're having a look around the rest? The toilets, storeroom and the like?" Makoto asked his partners. 

"No sheet left unturned." Kyoko agreed with a nod."

And with that, everyone had a team and a goal. Some people were clearly more comfortable than others, but those who were caused Makoto great discomfort. 'Those are the ones to watch.' He thought to himself, yet not truly believing it. He couldn't bring himself to think anyone here would actually commit murder. We were all there to attend Hopes Peak, a great place of learning for the most talented people alive, a beacon of hope for the world. If this is the state of things here, what's going on outside? Naegi shuddered at the thought. No, this was a joke, it had to be. 'We will find a way out of here.' He decided. 'We will get our lives back, and no-one will die.'


	2. New Surroundings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is short but I wanted to spew some more content out to try and convince myself to continue writinggg
> 
> Nothing special happening yet ^^"

"I didn't ask for help, nor did I ask you to stick your nose into my business." Togami spoke towards the floor, refusing to make eye contact with the slim figure of Ishimaru before him. 

"All due respect, we're all trapped here together, and our business is each other's!" Kiyotaka loudly retorted.

"I'm not partaking in this investigation. Go and 'guide' someone else." Togami returned bluntly, turning to take his leave only seconds later. 

Kiyotaka couldn't help but feel a little defeated. Clearly neither the biker or the heir had intentions of being a team player in the slightest. Sighing to himself briefly, he decided to take his own wander around the school. There was no way he could do anything when everyone was grouped, not that he would of course. It simply relieved him knowing he was safe from suspicion or even an attack at least for now, not that he wanted to believe his new friends would ever consider such malice.

\----------

The room went black, everyone fell silent immediately. Not a single source of light but a flickering red star in the corner of the room, no-one could see a thing. The atmosphere was uneasy, a shuffling sound could be heard a few metres away. 

"G-guys..." Touko stammered, causing a few invisible figures to jolt.

"It wasn't me!" Hifumi replied, just as frightened as the others. 

"Where's Celes?" Chihiro squeaked.

"Powercut! My bad." A sadistic tone in the gamblers voice as all of the monitors in the AV room started violently flickering on and off, enough to almost cause anyone a seizure. 

"Aa- Stop it!" Touko shouted, cupping her face with her hands.

"Celes!" Hifumi grumbled loudly, realising the source of the problem.

"What a bunch of children." The gambler mocked as she reset the lights and wandered away from the control panel. "Scared of the dark. What are you lost lambs going to do once the killing starts?" She teased, her clawed finger tracing her chin. 

"You think someone will actually-" Touko stopped herself mid-sentence and looked at the floor, eyes wide and face pale. God, she was going to... die here. She was actually going to die. 

"That's not cool!" Hifumi shouted at Celes, earning a silent nod of approval from Chihiro, too scared in this moment to say a word.

"Someone will, I assure you. Who can blame them, stuck in here with this pile of filth." She giggled to herself. Little did the others know how much of a ruse this was. Celestia may have been acting like a psychopathic mastermind, but deep inside she was just as afraid as everyone else. She didn't like the idea of death, not before she could fulfil her dreams. The only way she knew how to defend herself is to deflect everything, put up a rough persona. 'That way, they'll leave me alone. That way, I won't die.' She thought.

\----------

"This place is like, totally disgusting. Don't they ever clean? Gross." Junko complained as she was forced to rummage the storage room with Makoto and Kyoko. 

"You've become a lot more vocal." Naegi mentioned to the girl, noting the shift from her silent self in the gym to the Junko now, who had been non-stop complaining since they started looking around.

"Well, yeah, I'm stuck in this dingy place with you losers. This is totally uncool." The fashionista snidely remarked, analysing her nails for a few seconds. They looked like they could tear an eye out, and she looked like she would be happy to do so. 

"Your priorities may be a little muddled." Kyoko said, clearly addressing Enoshima, but not honouring her with any eye contact as she continued her wander around the room. 

"Whatever." She replied with a sigh, a defeatist one. Naegi furrowed his brow for a moment as he looked at the girl. Even she seemed shaken to the core under her ruse, and the longer he looked at her, the longer he pitied her.

'Everyone is broken. No-one can hide it, no matter how hard they try. We're all shattered from that performance in the gym, fearful for our lives and freedom, distrusting of each other. How long is this going to go on for?' Naegi thought, staring blankly at a wall like a statue. 

"Makoto." Kyoko said firmly.

"Wha- oh, sorry." He offered as a quick apology, quickly trying to go back to being active, at least make it look like he could focus on investigation right now. 

"Let's move on. There's nothing here." She finished, before starting to stroll out of the room. As expected, Naegi offered a nod and Junko a huff as they followed her outside and towards the dining room and kitchen, the last areas for the trio to investigate.


End file.
